In a career ranging close to four decades, Nakhat Khan, who is best known by her stage name Khushbu, has appeared in more than 150 movies. Predominantly a part of the South Indian film industry, Khushbu, in fact, started her career as a child artist with the 1980 Bollywood action thriller The Burning Train. She then went on to appear as a child actor in a handful of Hindi movies such as Poonam (1981), Dard Ka Rishta (1982), Bemisal (1982), Ek Saudagar (1985), and Jaanoo (1985) before making her Telugu film debut in 1986 with Kaliyuga Pandavulu opposite Venkatesh.

Post her Telugu debut, she moved to Chennai to focus on her career in the various south Indian film industries. While she debuted with a Telugu movie, Khushbu went on to become one of the top actresses in the Tamil film industry. So much so that, her fans her a temple in Tamil Nadu, making her the first Indian actor to have received such an honour in the country. Making her Tamil debut in 1988, Khushbu started with the movie Dharmathin Thalaivan, following which she went on to appear in close to 100 Tamil movies such as Chinna Thambi, Manasu Rendum Pudhusu, Kolangal, Simmarasi, Vetrivel Sakthivel, and Ilaignan to name a few.

Meanwhile, she has also been an active part of the Kannada and Malayalam film industries and has a handful of movies from both the industries. Apart from being an actor, Khushbu has also been associated with movies as a producer with Giri, Rendu, Nagaram Marupakkam, Kalakalappu, and Aranmanai 2 to her credit.

In 2010, the actress ventured into politics, joining the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which she was a part of until 2014. She quit DKM to join the Indian National Congress and, as on 2017, is the National Spokesperson of the party. Even after pursuing her political career, Khushbu continued to be a part of the film industry and, since 2010, has appeared in movies like Illangyan, Mr. Marumakan, Cowboy, Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru, and Agnyaathavaasi.